Ski mountaineering talent Nick DeVore signs with Marmot

Aspen, CO: Ski-mountaineering luminary and free-heel icon, Nick DeVore, is the most recent addition to Marmot’s global athlete team, ushering in a new chapter for Marmot’s product development team and fanning the flames of the 35-year-old company’s ski-mountaineering heritage. Considered by many of his peers as one of the top ski athletes in North America, DeVore (24) has earned his place in free skiing competitions since 2003. But it is the Aspen-based skier’s cool headspace and organic lifestyle–married to his passion for carving big mountain lines—which has created a mystique around DeVore for years, setting him apart from other ski athletes of his generation.

In May 2007, at just 21 years old, DeVore clipped into his telemark ski bindings on the 20,320-foot summit of Denali—North America’s highest peak. Together with his long-time friend Chris Davenport the duo skied the sustained 55-degree Messner Couloir: a 6000-foot line rarely descended on skis. That same season on the mountain, DeVore and Davenport skied the Orient Express and also made significant first-descents from Denali’s less-traveled North Summit.

For many of his peers, DeVore’s free-heel ski descents in Alaska came as no surprise. DeVore’s backcountry experience is extensive. From home-base in Aspen, he’s been skiing premier, off-piste lines for years, developing an all-mountain skill-set since he was a teenager. He’s skied even bigger lines from some of Colorado’s hardest 14,000-foot peaks–-demanding alpine objectives in the winter. “Ski mountaineering is a pilgrimage” explains DeVore. “It’s a test of strength, endurance, intuition, devotion, teamwork, as well as an expression of one’s style and creativity.”

“Watching Nick carving turns down a big mountain face is totally inspiring—he makes it look just effortless” explains Brian LaPlante, Marmot’s Category Merchandise Manager, a former competitive ski racer and backcountry skier. Marmot plans to work with DeVore in the years ahead as one of the company’s premier ski athletes—an ideal new snowsports ambassador to carry-forward Marmot’s ski-mountaineering legacy which has been emblazoned by legendary Marmot athletes like Mark Newcomb and Doug Coombs (1957-2006). LaPlante adds, “We’ll look to Nick to assist us in product field-testing and for innovative ideas to strengthen our snowsports collection.” LaPlante, along with an in-house team of designers have been developing the Doug Coombs Sidecountry Collection for Marmot, which will be available beginning Fall 2010.

“Mountains are my church and telemark skiing is my prayer” DeVore explains when asked about some of his top-line ideas about skiing. “When I have an epic run, I flow down the mountain like water would…skiing becomes effortless…its one of the few times in my life where I am truly in the moment, in the zone, focused purely on the now and the obstacles that quickly approach.”

In 2008, staying true to his religion, DeVore won the Telemark World Championship in Alyeska, Alaska (Chugach Range). Remarkably, he also placed 6th at the Jackson Hole Freeskiing Open that same year against an all-alpine pool of athletes. In 2009, at the Snowbird Freeskiing Nationals, DeVore placed 11th overall, also up against some of the best alpine skiers in the country. But with all the competition successes to his name, glossy publication coverage–-even movie appearances, DeVore’s spiritual philosophy and humble approach to his skiing have become the hallmarks of his career.

“Skiing is a form of meditation and prayer; it’s a yogic discipline that can bring tremendous happiness and energy. When I am skiing at my highest potential I am fully focused on nothing but the present and I am guided by a higher power,” explains DeVore. Tossing a refreshing note into to the mix, DeVore adds, “Skiing should not be about the ego…it should be about friendship, camaraderie and embracing nature.”